Sam Houston State finished third at the ECAC Invitational hosted by Monmouth University in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, Saturday and Sunday.

The Bearkats went 4-1 in quad baker matches to give SHSU a 9-2 mark in the tournament and a 12-4 performance for the weekend.

The first two rounds were added to yesterday's total pins to seed us in the third round for a standard Bracket however all of today's action was quad baker matches & separate from yesterday's play.

In Sunday's action, the Kats defeated Hampton 747-684, Saint Francis of New York 747-719 and 825-719, No. 18 Monmouth 786-664 and lost to No. 16 Adelphi 859-765.

"The team showed great poise today and was able to overcome a few mistakes we made early in some matches," SHSU head coach Brad Hagen said. "Sunday was our day to see how far we could push ourselves positively. We did a great job refocusing and bouncing back to fill frames and put us in contention to win matches. The girls simply never gave in or gave up.

"We have to treat every match like it's going to be our last just because wins are so important this time of the year. Every match is a major deciding variable to post season play so for us to go east healthily recharged and accomplish what we did was huge for this team moving forward."

Saturday the team won five of their six traditional team matches. Three of the Bearkats' victories came over nationally ranked opponents as SHSU defeated No. 16 Adelphi 948-795, No. 18 Monmouth 862-836 and No. 12 New Jersey City 875-817.

The Kats also posted wins over Long Island University 1,043-867 and Salem International 924-622. Sam Houston's only loss came at the hands of No. 13 Delaware State 942-870.

"Saturday was the day we've been waiting for and wanting," Hagen said. " The team did an excellent job communicating as a whole and managing the lanes. We stayed aggressive and were able to fill frames which was exactly enough to take care of our objectives and accomplish our goal. Quality shots mean the world and every win is beyond imperative."

The Bearkats were lead in tradition team play by Michelle Secours and Lisa MacAllister.

"They both did a great job communicating and staying on top of their transition," Hagen said. "This team is hungry and they know what's on the line."

Today's action was highlighted by high games of 236 from Dayna Galganski, 214 by Michelle Secours, and Lisa MacAllisters 207.

Michelle Secours earned a spot on the all-tournament team with a 198.00 average for six games.